A heartwarming must-read about the value of friendship and kindness prevailing over adversity.
Janet and Kerry Lorimer present a heartwarming middle-grade nonfiction work about generosity after the Second World War.
In October 1947, an American journalist named Drew Pearson planned a “Friendship Train” that would collect food for Europe on a route stretching from California to New York. By December, Pearson’s train had collected $40 million in food and supplies, which were then shipped to France. Later, André Picard and Louis Cast, two Frenchmen, created a train like the American “Friendship Train” called the 1949 Merci Train, in order to show their thanks for the American donations that France had received. The authors center the stories of these trains around the Hawaiian concept of “kokua,” which means “choosing to help others without expecting anything in return.” Though Hawaii was not a state in 1947, Hawaiian people raised money for sugar to be sent on the Friendship Train. The authors do an excellent job describing the trains in detail: “With a hiss of steam and shrill blasts from the locomotive’s whistle, the little boxcar traveled across France, its wheels clickity-clacking against the rails.” Young readers will especially like the attention-grabbing way in which the sounds of the trains are written: “CHUFF-chuff-chuff-chuff, CHUFF-chuff-chuff-chuff, WHOO-WOO.” Gadotti’s meticulous drawings create a sense of motion, with one scene depicting a soldier sitting on the edge of the boxcar. Tying the story to themes of altruistic generosity, the authors write, “As the history of the Friendship and Gratitude trains spread, people from all over came together and gave from their hearts in whatever way they could, all for the love of a little French boxcar.” In the end, this book is a sweet tale of generosity, especially for those interested in this little-known historical episode.
A heartwarming must-read about the value of friendship and kindness prevailing over adversity.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9798999071125
Page Count: 68
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care.
In 1977, the oil carrier Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of oil into a formerly pristine Alaskan ocean inlet, killing millions of birds, animals, and fish. Despite a cleanup, crude oil is still there.
The Winters foretold the destructive powers of the atomic bomb allusively in The Secret Project (2017), leaving the actuality to the backmatter. They make no such accommodations to young audiences in this disturbing book. From the dark front cover, on which oily blobs conceal a seabird, to the rescuer’s sad face on the back, the mother-son team emphasizes the disaster. A relatively easy-to-read and poetically heightened text introduces the situation. Oil is pumped from the Earth “all day long, all night long, / day after day, year after year” in “what had been unspoiled land, home to Native people // and thousands of caribou.” The scale of extraction is huge: There’s “a giant pipeline” leading to “enormous ships.” Then, crash. Rivers of oil gush out over three full-bleed wordless pages. Subsequent scenes show rocks, seabirds, and sea otters covered with oil. Finally, 30 years later, animals have returned to a cheerful scene. “But if you lift a rock… // oil / seeps / up.” For an adult reader, this is heartbreaking. How much more difficult might this be for an animal-loving child?
Like oil itself, this is a book that needs to be handled with special care. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 9-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3077-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
IN THE NEWS
Playful, provocative, and packed with perspective.
Did Christopher Columbus really “discover” a new world? Did the Pilgrims invite the Wampanoag to a friendly First Thanksgiving? Is July 4 truly the nation’s birthday?
Readers familiar with traditional narratives of America’s founding are invited to interrogate those myths in this interactive exploration of early U.S. history. A strong introductory framework asks whose stories endure and whose have been erased from the history books, emphasizing that Indigenous peoples remain part of the present, not just the past. Each spread presents a common misconception, then asks readers to flip assumptions aside by lifting a partial gatefold that reveals the true story beneath. Well-sourced explanations elevate figures and communities often excluded from history books, including women, Black Americans, and Indigenous peoples. Bold colors, graphic-heavy layouts, and energetic illustrations that make creative use of historical photos and images break complex ideas into bite-size pieces that encourage browsing over linear reading. A timeline, speech bubbles, and lift-the-flap “True or False” quizzes reinforce the book’s core message: History is layered, debatable, and dynamic. Though the book’s busy, nonlinear design may prove challenging for some, on the whole it works very well as an engaging historical overview. The content assumes a foundational knowledge of early U.S. history, making it most suitable for older elementary readers, though some visual choices skew younger. Backmatter includes more historical information and background on the book’s creation.
Playful, provocative, and packed with perspective. (glossary, resources, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9798888599082
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
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